Chapter Nine

 

Sunday, November 17th, 6:30 p.m.

 

It took a while to get the kids moving toward the house. Linda cried when her father wouldn’t get out of the Jeep to hug and kiss them goodbye. Instead, as soon as I had the four of them on the sidewalk leading to the front door, Rick backed out of the drive and left. When I looked, Jack was gone too. I ignored my disappointment. I’d wanted to spend a few minutes with him and now I couldn’t. I wasn’t five so I didn’t wail like the little girls, but oh, I wanted to.

Kevin marched beside me toting his pack and the diaper bag. Dirt covered his jeans, and he had ketchup and mustard stains on his shirt. “How long do we have to stay with him? He was mean all weekend.”

“Tessa wouldn’t come out of their room today so we didn’t have no lunch or snacks,” Lance told me. “She was sick yesterday too. Daddy took us to Grandma’s all day. We had a sleepover, and he came to get us after breakfast.”

I ushered them up the walk to the front door. “Was it fun?”

“Yes,” the boys chorused, but Cathy shook her head. “She likes boys better than girls. They got to have their snacks in front of the TV, but me and Linda had to have ours in the kitchen.”

I listened to the rest of the stories about the weekend for the next twenty minutes. Kevin saw to it that the backpacks ended up in the laundry room. He took Lance off to their room to change to clean clothes. Cathy and Linda went to ours. Toting the youngest on my hip, I carried Chrissy into the bathroom. She stood while I stripped off her overalls and T-shirt. Poop ran down her legs, so I boosted her into the tub. Okay, so Mom had a lot to deal with, but she was hearing all about this. I heard footsteps in the hall and glanced over my shoulder.

A red-haired woman about my mother’s age came to a stop in the doorway. “Hi, I’m Darby. Kevin told me I’d find you here. Want some help?”

She wore a white tank top and shorts. Pink polish glittered on her toenails, matching her fingers. No way would I turn my baby sister over to someone dressed that nicely. I smiled at her. “Thanks, but I’ve got this handled. Could you give the kids some crackers and milk? I’ll fix dinner for them as soon as Chrissy’s cleaned up.”

Before she answered, the doorbell rang. She shook her head. “I’ll start with that and then do supper.”

She didn’t come back. Kevin did, eyeing our baby sister where she stood in the tub while I took off her T-shirt. “You’re gross, Chrissy. Guess what, Vicky? Jack’s here, and he brought us pizza.”

“No way,” I said.

“Yes, way.” Kevin beamed at me. “Cheese pizza, but Darby and Jack say we have to drink milk. Can’t we have soda tonight?”

“Maybe later.” I peeled the diaper off a dancing toddler. “You could probably handle it, Kev, but the little kids can’t. Not if they didn’t have lunch or snacks. I don’t want to be cleaning up puke too. This is yucky enough.”

“I didn’t think of that. I’ll bring her clean clothes from the laundry room.”

“Okay. Thanks for the help.” I flicked him a quick glance. “Sometimes I forget to say I appreciate how good you are with the little ones.”

A big smile and he was gone. Great, my new strategy of divide and conquer was working. Right now, he was on my side. If I remembered to treat him like he was my assistant and not the same age as the twins, my life could get easier.

I focused on my immediate concern, the actual baby. She offered up a crooked grin. “Stinky poo.”

“Yes, but you’ll be all clean real soon.” I reached for the covered diaper pail, grateful to find it empty. Mom must have done the last load of diapers yesterday. I dropped in the gross one, wondering what her grandma fed Chrissy. I turned on the water, letting it warm up in the tap before I grabbed the handheld shower attachment. “Time to wash off, baby girl.”

A short while later, I strolled into the kitchen, Chrissy happily holding two of my fingers. “I hope you guys saved us some pizza.”

“You know it.” Jack stood and pulled the high chair closer. “Hey, pumpkin. You look gorgeous.”

“And here I thought you never noticed,” I teased.

He laughed, scooped up Chrissy, and tucked her into her seat. He put a plate of cut-up bites of cheese pizza in front of her on the tray. “I was talking to the princess here.”

“You are such a hero.” I sat down next to his chair and grabbed a slice of my favorite super-combo. “Now, I don’t have to cook. Yippee!”

“Yeah, but there’s lots of laundry.” Worry edged Cathy’s sky-blue eyes. “And Daddy didn’t have time to do homework with us. I don’t know my spelling words, and I failed my test on Friday, so I gotta do it again tomorrow.”

“Well, it’s a good thing I’m here,” Jack told her. “I’m the bestest speller in the whole senior class.”

“Really?” A tiny smile tugged at Cathy’s lips.

“Only if you let him brag,” I said. “Of course, my English teacher says Jack has incredible talent when he writes stories. Since she’s majorly tough on spelling, he could be right.”

“I am.” Jack brought me a glass of milk. “Just ask and I’ll tell you again.”

Darby came in from the laundry room. “I’ve switched loads and started up the washer for you. If there isn’t anything else I can do to help, I’m headed for my room. I have the breakfast shift at the casino, and I have to be there early tomorrow.”

“You two are amazing,” I said. “This will be my easiest Sunday night ever.”

“And you may even get your own homework done.” Jack sat next to me, curving an arm around my shoulders. “Book clubs meet this week, so you really need to finish that novel for your Coffeehouse discussion. Weaver’s harsh when it comes to participation.”

* * * *

Monday, November 18th, 7:10 a.m.

 

I hit the Commons at the same time that Robin did, taking my peppermint latte from her. “Have I ever told you just how wonderful your older brother is?”

“All the time and it’s majorly gross,” Robin said. “Do you know he took my dogs out yesterday where his evil horse could stomp them?”

“He brought pizza for the kids and helped them with their homework last night.” I led the way to one of our favorite tables. “I think this woman who rented the master suite may turn out to be okay. She was a real big help when Rick did his Sunday night drop and dash.”

“Tell me about it,” Robin said, “and then I’ll tell you about my internship yesterday. I got to sew up my first horse. Dr. Larry said I did an awesome job.”

We sat and dished the dirt about our weekend. Wow, I’d missed this. Mom had been in such a good mood last night when she got home and found everything done that she actually volunteered to get the kids off to school and daycare today and tomorrow. That meant I could have a life, and I so needed one. When Robin paused for breath, I told her about the extended cheer practices so we’d be ready for the next competition.

“If I get stuck, will you pick up the kids for me? The counselor says I’m only supposed to get them on Thursdays, but I really can’t depend on Mom or Rick.”

“That’s a sad state of affairs, but what are friends for? You can count on me, Vick.” Robin paused. “Don’t you have to be the one to get them at the school?”

“Yes, but I’ll ask Ms. Walker for a break so we can run over to the elementary school.”

“Great and I’ll talk to Bill. He’ll give us a ride, and that will really speed us up. What about the daycare? Will they freak if I’m the one who gets Chrissy?”

“Not if we do it the same way. I’ll give you my keys, and you can take them home.”

“Works for me,” Robin said. “I’ll line up Gwen, Porter, and Dani in case something happens and I have a conflict.”

The first bell rang, and we jumped up to head for Homeroom English. I spotted Evie and gave the cheer captain a thumbs up sign. She waved back at me.

Mrs. Weaver waited for us at the classroom door. “All right, ladies. What did you bring for the boxes?”

I blinked. “What boxes?”

“The food drive boxes.” She gave me a look like I was a total idiot and waved to the brightly decorated cartons near her desk. “The winning room gets an ice cream social, and the teacher has all her final exams graded by the rest of the Language Arts Department. I’m the champion, and I’m not losing my title this year. What did you bring?”

“Nothing today, but I’ll bring two non-perishable items tomorrow,” I said.

Meanwhile, my best friend opened her backpack and pulled out a box of cereal and a can of tomato sauce. When I gave her an evil look, Robin shrugged. “What can I say? I want the cross-country team to kick butt so I have to lead by example.”

“You suck,” I told her and headed for my desk. I glanced at the whiteboard for the entry task. Monday’s extended write waited for me. Mrs. Weaver must have had a crazy weekend too. “Today is Mickey Mouse’s birthday. Describe the party you would give for this famous character, who you would invite, and why. What food would you serve?”

* * * *

Monday, November 18th, 3:15 p.m.

 

We’d just finished our new ripple cheer and were taking a quick break when my phone went off. I picked it up and read the last message. It was from Lance’s teacher reminding me that I needed to pick up the twins. Wait a minute. Wasn’t it supposed to be Mom’s day? I called her super quick, and got the message that she was unavailable. Oh my Gawd! I hated it when Robin was right about anything. Usually, it worked the other way around. I told my drama diva best friend when she was inappropriate.

“Do you have to leave, Vicky?” Ms. Walker gave me her undivided attention while the rest of the cheerleaders stared at me. “Haven’t we talked about this before?”

“Yes, we have, and I’ve made arrangements for the kids to be babysat. I just need to get them and turn them over to Robin. She should be back any minute from her practice.” I texted her. While I waited for a response, I said, “I do understand that this is a major pain for all of you and I’m really sorry. My mom’s counselor actually told her that she needs to step up more.”

“Amazing.” Fiona snapped her gum. That got her our cheer coach’s undivided attention and a fierce glare. The other flyer darted away to the garbage can to spit out the gum.

My phone buzzed, and I scanned the message from Robin. “Okay, she has a ride for us. We’ll run to the elementary school, and I’ll grab the kids. I’ll be back in fifteen minutes. Promise.”

“Take twenty,” Evie told me. “It’ll give us time to practice everything we need to do prior to the lifts, and we need you back here alive.”

Ms. Walker nodded in agreement. Grateful for their support, I darted to the gym door and nearly crashed into Robin and Bill. We hurried to the parking lot. On the way to the elementary school, I called and apologized to the twins’ kindergarten teacher, Mr. Diaz. “I’m so sorry for the breakdown in communications. My parents were supposed to pick up the kids today because of cheer practice.”

“It’s okay. I had some extra grading to do. I have all four of them in my room right now.”

“Wonderful. Tell them to get started on their homework,” I said. “If they have it done early, we’ll do a movie night.”

“They’re already started,” Mr. Diaz said. “I didn’t know about the movie night. Will that be okay with your parents?”

“Come on. It’s November. You know by now that I run their little lives. I am the teenager in charge of them. Always have been, always will be.” Before he answered, I ended the call. When I saw the look on Robin’s face, I asked, “What?”

“Don’t you think that will get back to your mom?”

I shrugged. “Who cares if it does? What’s the worst thing that will happen? She’ll be so pissed she takes care of her own kids? Are you over yourself now?”

“You do have a point, but you don’t sound furious, Vicky.”

“What’s the point? She has bills to pay, and she probably got an extra shift and forgot to cover her bases. Or she called Rick and, once again, he did his little slide-step. Adam Chambers may say I’m an oxymoron, an honest politician in the paper. What would he call my stepdad?”

“Things that are unprintable.” Bill pulled into the parking lot in front of the school. “Go get the kids. Once you turn them over to Robin, I’ll drive you to the daycare.”